Living WITH less

One man's quest to do away with all but 100 belongings is creating buzz on the Web

June 25, 2008|By Kyra Kyles, Redeye

Could you whittle down your personal possessions to just 100 things?

Would you get rid of most of your jeans, sell your shoes or free yourself of furniture in order to live a simpler lifestyle?

It may sound like a steep challenge, especially in this material world, but that's the personal goal adopted by blogger and former Chicago resident Dave Bruno. After much donating, auctioning and selling, Bruno said he can now fit his personal possessions -- other than his car, office desk and items he shares with his wife and young daughters -- into a closet.

His ultimate aim: to be down to 100 things by November -- and to keep that number intact for at least a year.

After writing about his 100 Thing Challenge on his blog (guynameddave.com), people from across the country are considering joining in, said Bruno, who now lives in San Diego. Think it sounds easy?

The average person might have 100 items under his or her bed, let alone in his or her home, guessed Bruno, who also co-owns a Christian audio book publishing company.

"We live in a society that says it's OK to over-consume," Bruno, 36, said. "And I wanted to personally question that."

Though Bruno's challenge does not count food, perishable items, underwear or socks as individual items, he said he still has found it tough to get rid of extra dress shirts, shoes, tools and furnishings.

"My wife told me I need to kick it up a notch," Bruno said, adding that his wife and young daughters are not participating in the purging, but he is encouraged by other Americans joining his initiative.

One convert is 36-year-old Barry Velasquez, who lives in Clovis, Calif.

"I have too much stuff, and it kind of weighs me down," Velasquez said. He, like Bruno, plans to give himself about a year to achieve the 100-things goal, having already compiled a list of must-haves including his wedding ring, laptop and bike. "If you go through my house, through the garage and my room, you see things laying around, cluttering the place -- not to mention my life."

Another 100 Thing Challenge supporter, St. Louis resident Janet Riehl, said she has been practicing simplicity her whole life. But Riehl, 59, said she is pleased to see it quantified and reaching the consciousness of mainstream society. Riehl, a writer and artist, has managed to live on $10,000-per-year for most of her adult life and has never been part of what she termed "consumer culture," she said.

"What I admire about this effort is it forces us to think about our choices in a culture where people are consumer mad," Riehl said of the challenge, adding that she is encouraged by others online who seem open to the challenge.

Bruno said he has received 50 supportive e-mails and approximately 200 comments on his blog.

"It wasn't my intention to make this a movement, but it seems to have become that," Bruno said. "But if what I am doing can make people think a little bit more about what they are buying and how much stuff they have, and maybe don't need, that's great."

A host of TLC's "Date My House" and former Chicagoan Nadia Geller said Bruno's blog-based movement is particularly relevant as the economy declines in the U.S.

Geller, a 31-year-old interior decorator, said she has always championed "de-cluttering," but now finds that more show guests, as well as personal friends, are willing to toss out personal possessions and slow down on buying new ones.

"Times are tough right now, and people feel like they need to downsize and live a little simpler," Geller said. "We are now realizing that it no longer makes us feel better when we buy something new, especially if we can't afford it. Gas is higher, food is more expensive and it's not really a great time for over-consuming and having too many things."

But for Joliet's Teana Forrest, having only 100 things is as extreme as owning too many things. "I agree that you should buy in moderation, and I am not like some of my friends that go to the mall and can't leave without buying something," Forrest, 29, said when asked by RedEye whether she could pony up to the 100 Thing Challenge. "But there are certain things I like to have a lot of, like bed sheets. Lots of bed sheets."

And shoes.

"As a woman, I could never limit myself to one pair of pants, one pair of shoes. Never," Forrest said.

Oak Park's John Tsakalakis seemed more open to the call to simplify his stuff, even citing the subversive "Fight Club" credo of character Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) not to allow your items to own you. But Tsakalakis, 35, balked at the idea of enumerating the amount.

"That I find ridiculous," Tsakalakis said. "It's a waste of time to count out 100 things. The way I see it, you should just have the items you absolutely want and need and actually use. Who's to say how many things that adds up to?"